Trio Cast in the NBC Pilot 'Beach Lane'

In another sign that NBC’s freshman series Trauma has run out of lives at NBC, the network has cast one of the show’s stars, Aimee Garcia as a lead on the Matthew Broderick comedy pilot Beach Lane. Also cast in the pilot from Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, are Patton Oswalt and “3rd Rock from the Sun” alumna Kristen Johnson.

Beach Lane stars Broderick as a celebrity author is hired by an irresponsible millionaire heir (Oswalt) to run his struggling small-town newspaper. For Garcia, Beach Lane is formally in second position to Trauma, which recently ended its freshman run on NBC. The low-rated paramedic drama first came close to cancelation in October when the network indicated it was not planning to order episodes beyond the initial 13. Then, in light of the cancelation of The Jay Leno Show, NBC ordered extra episodes of Trauma, but the show’s ratings didn’t improve.

Meanwhile, Oswalt was set to make his Broadway debut in Lips Together, Teeth Apart until the play recently unraveled following the exit of co-star Megan Mullally.